Words of Jesus Part 16

Matthew 19:1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

I think over 75 percent of the world's Christians ignore this part of the scriptures. It has always been a great temptation to explain away or change the scriptures to suit our own lifestyles. We must not add to or take away from the word of God. Most prefer to explain it away and emphasis the exceptions rather than to believe what Jesus said and accept it without question.

Matthew 19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

Moses allowed exceptions to marriage vows but Jesus explains that in the beginning God wanted a marriage to be just that; a marriage for the life of the man and woman being married. Our wonderful God knows ahead of time what breaking up a marriage does to a family. Children are confused and often get into trouble later in life. I've seen this happen with my own eyes.

Another reason is that marriage is a holy union. Once you commit yourself to marriage it is for life. If one breaks the vow of marriage, the innocent party is free but the guilty party has committed adultery and repentance would be necessary to restore the person back to fellowship with God. Repent means to change, turn around and return to the ways of God rather than our own ways.

Matthew 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

We can't be plainer than this. If a man divorces his wife and marries someone else he or she commits adultery. The exception is if the man's wife (woman's husband)was guilty of fornication.

Fornication is sexual immorality. This would include adultery, sex outside of the sanctity of marriage, unnatural sex, bestiality, and many other forms done by those of a reprobate mind. Once we start down the path of fornication our minds become reprobate and it no longer seems wrong to us. It is a dangerous state to be in. If we find ourselves allowing things in our life that we would have been shocked over years ago, its time to repent and get back in the fellowship with God before our mind become completely reprobate. This sin though was a reason to allow divorce and remarriage.

I see precious people that choose to stay single after a divorce because they prefer not to take the chance of breaking the word of God. They are to be commended for their restraint.

If a person does divorce and remarry contrary to the word of God, then they need to repent and renew themselves to the fellowship of God just the same as any other sin that breaks the law of God. I wouldn't go so far as to suggest divorcing the second wife and destroying another family. I've heard that some believe a person should then go return to the first wife but that would cause more hurt and confusion. We must always exercise wisdom in all things. Two wrongs do not make it right. Better not to get into these kinds of messes in the first place but never let this keep us from renewing ourselves to God. Just start over and accept God's forgiveness and move on.

I've known some that have the attitude that I can divorce remarry and then repent and make heaven my home. The whole attitude is wrong if that is the case and the adultery is already committed in the heart and needs to be repented of. Repent again, means to genuinely change ones mind. If one just says they are sorry and makes no change, it is not repentance.

Matthew 19:10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

Not all people are able to live without marriage. Only those that really commit themselves purposely to live for God and not marry who may be called to live that way, can accomplish it in their own lives.

Marriage, however should never be forbidden to anyone as a requirement to be used in God's service as a minister. There is nothing in the scriptures that teach that priests, prophets and ministers should not marry. These kind of commitments have to be voluntary.

Matthew 19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

That says it all. Whether to marry or not is voluntary and between us and the Lord.

Matthew 19:13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Children are humble and recognize their need for someone to help them. We need to be as a child that is meek, seeking God's presence. That is what the kingdom of God is made up of. Children also should never be forbidden to hear the word of God or receive salvation.

I really pity the ones who mistakenly refuse to allow a child to pray in school, draw a picture of Jesus or write about Jesus in their classrooms. It would be better to be drowned in the sea than to offend a child who believes in Jesus Christ. The courts did not rule that this is forbidden, but only state sponsored prayer led by the teacher or principle is forbidden. Government is not to endorse any religion. The children however, should be allowed to pray or read the bible in school just so long as he or she does not do it in a way as to disrupt the teacher in their duties.

Matthew 19:15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

We see now that it is truly a straight and narrow way to salvation. Its hard for a rich man to enter heaven because he is trusting in his riches rather than depending on God. He is afraid to let go of this life and trust God for eternal life. We can keep all the commandments and still hold onto things that we love more than Christ. That is not forsaking all to follow the Lord.

We believe in Christ to be saved for nothing else has the power to remove our sins and grant us eternal salvation. It is not by our own good works apart from Christ. After we receive Christ; after trusting in His mercy and grace, we are to be faithful to His commandments. If we stop believing and turn away from God, we could lose our salvation. Sorry, beloved Baptists brethren in the Lord, but this is the way I see the scriptures teach when we take all the words of Jesus and not just one or two verses without considering all His words.

On other hand we can go so far as to lose our assurance of salvation thinking every single mistake as we learn and grow in the Lord will cause us to lose out with God. So we can go too far either way. I use to see young people go to the altar and repent everytime they heard a soul stirring message. Our vision of God should never be that He is waiting for us to mess up so that He can judge us. That is not who God is. His angels rejoice when one sinner repents. Heaven rejoices. God loves us. Jesus hung on the cross and died to save us. He wants us to be saved more than we want to be saved. There is a balance here. We need the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we really do sin against God but we also need assurance of salvation and walk in love so that we learn to serve God out of love and joy. We don't need to constantly try to earn God's favor but realize we are already in God's favor by our faith in His Son Jesus.

Matthew 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

So we we that it is possible live in the love of God by the help of the Holy Spirit. We are to seek the joy of the Lord doing things because we love Him, not to earn His love.

Matthew 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Whatever we give up in order to remain faithful to the Lord will cause us to inherit everlasting life. Actually we never give up anything that is worth holding on to. In the long run, we will profit only if we let go of these things if required in order to follow Christ. If we choose our family, our friends, our jobs, our homes above Christ then we will end up losing them anyway because this life is temporary. Only the things of God will stand the test of time and judgment.

My opinion on verse 29 is this: There also verses that tell us that if we do not provide for our own household, we are worse than an infidel so that makes me wonder if forsaking our homes and family simply means that if they criticize us or remove us from their company for believing in Jesus, then we must choose to remain with the Lord not allow relatives to persuade us to depart from the Lord.

Matthew 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

The last to be called or come into the kingdom shall be first and the ones that were called first will be last.

This could mean that the Jews that were called first will be last to come into the kingdom and the Gentiles that were called last shall be first. The Jews will return in the latter days and they are already coming to Christ according to reports I've heard. Praise the Lord.

Words of Jesus Part 17

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